60th Birthday Gift Ideas for Dad

At 60, a lot of dads start saying “when I retire” more often. He is thinking about time: how to spend it, who to spend it with and what he still wants to do. The best 60th birthday gift ideas for dad lean into that, with trips, projects and time with the grandkids. Our top pick is a song about his life, because 60 years of stories deserve more than a card signed in a hurry.

Listen to a Songbond song

This one was made for another family. Yours would carry his name and your stories.

12 60th birthday gift ideas for dad

1. A song about his 60 years ($39.90). Share his work, the grandkids' names, the trips he still talks about and what he calls Mom, and Songbond turns it into an original song within 24 hours. It suits a big birthday dinner or a quiet morning coffee.
2. A national park road trip. Plan the route he has talked about for years, book the lodges and go with him. Usually $500 or more, depending on distance.
3. A family history project. A DNA kit and a membership to a family records site, or a morning at the county archives together. Usually $60 to $150.
4. A workshop upgrade. The saw, drill or sander he keeps putting off buying. Usually $100 to $300.
5. A raised garden bed kit. Something to build with the grandkids in spring and fill with tomatoes by July. Usually $80 to $200.
6. A proper coffee setup. A good grinder and machine for the slower mornings ahead. Usually $150 to $500.
7. A guided fly-fishing day. A day on a river with a guide who teaches him to cast. Usually $200 to $400.
8. A camping weekend with the grandkids. You plan it, pack it and bring the marshmallows. He just gets to be Grandpa.
9. A map of everywhere he has lived and worked. Marked on a framed map, from his first apartment to the house he is in now. Usually $40 to $90.
10. A cooking class for the dish he wants to master. Bread, fresh pasta or a proper curry. Take it with him. Usually $80 to $150 per person.
11. A day driving a sports car on a track. The car he had a poster of at 15. Usually $200 to $500.
12. A good bike for the next decade. A comfortable hybrid or road bike and a promise to ride together on Sundays. Usually $400 to $1,200.

How to choose for his 60th

Ask where he is headed. A dad who is still working full time will want something that fits a weekend. A dad who is about to retire will want something to fill the new free days. Either way, choose a gift that gets him out and doing something, rather than one more thing for the shelf.

• If he is about to retire: the road trip, the garden bed or the bike.
• If he loves being a grandpa: the camping weekend, the family history project or the song.
• If he likes to make things: the workshop upgrade, the cooking class or the coffee setup.

What to put in a 60th birthday song for your dad

Sixty years is a lot to fit into one song, so pick a few moments, not the whole life. Choose one story from his childhood, one from when he became a father, and one from right now. Then add the small things: the tune he whistles in the garage, the way he answers the phone, the name the grandkids call him. From the stories families send us, general words like loving and hardworking fit almost every dad. The specific habits are what make a song sound like him and nobody else.

Order his 60th birthday song

Create a 60th birthday song for your dad. Tell us about him, and it is ready within 24 hours. If the dinner is tonight, express delivery gets it to you in about an hour.

Also in the Journal: songs for a dad's 60th birthday and a retirement song for dad.